Bob, I never thought about Marmots. Hiking up to Whitney, I've only see one Marmot above 13,000, and that was right up at the Summit. How many marmots are up above 13,000 feet? Is that Summit junction at 13,300 give or take a few feet?

Justin, I heard an idea about a guy wanting to sit high up on a hill overlooking a trail head with a high powered rifle and a good scope waiting for the tweakers to come by and as they tried something he would shout out the tires of their car- Its just a thought but sounded like a good way to get back at them, boy would they be surprised.

I surf a lot and most surfers just stash their keys somewhere. Naturally, knuckleheads come around and take advantage. Now, I use this:

http://www.hitchsafe.com/

I used it while my car was at the portal for 2 weeks, and I use it at the beach. I always have a spare key and it's better than a hide a key. If you have a removable trailer hitch it's a good way to go.

The junction of the JMT and the Mt Whitney Trail is at 13,450 feet. Yes, marmots are common there because there are so many packs left there day after day. They just tend to stay back in the rocks until folks leave before they get into things.

Had to laugh (sadly) about Marmots being mentioned. Seems they have had an issue the past couple years at ONP with them sneaking into engine compartments and taking cozy naps! They like to chew on wires, etc as well.

I know last year they were warning hikers at Obstruction Point TH to open and check before getting in and turning over the engine - just in case!

Thanks for the advice everyone. Had a nice trip up San Gorgonio and left the gear behind without a problem. Sounds like I might want to be a bit more careful when I do Whitney, but otherwise I don't think I'll be worrying too much anymore.